By Gary Collins/reporter
Noticed anything odd in the bookstore lately … something new and organic?
Now for sale in the Bookstore and ready for the health conscious is Odwalla, which arrived at TCC in December after the takeover by Follett Higher Education Group.
“ Our regional manager is crazy about them,” Barbara Tarflinger, a NE Bookstore employee, said.
The Odwalla product line features soymilk, cereal type bars (Odwalla Bar) and 12-ounce fruit juices, and the latter two are sold at TCC Bookstores.
According to the Odwalla Web site, the company prides itself on selling products without using genetically modified ingredients.
The company is committed to using only ingredients that are not produced using biotechnology, according to the Odwalla Web site.
Odwalla has diverse line of drinks from fruit smoothies, such as Mango Tango and Blueberry B Monster, to Quenchers made from evaporated cane juice, filtered water and real fruit. Odwalla sells pure fruit juices and natural spring water.
The fruit juices also come in an assorted variety.
Pure juice comes in tangerine, apple, carrot orange, grapefruit and orange juice, made of 100 percent pure Valencia oranges.
The pure juice products contain potassium, which promotes a stable and healthy heartbeat.
Pure juice also includes vitamin A, which helps the body maintain healthy skin by acting as an antioxidant with other natural protectors to defend body cells. Vitamin A also helps promote good vision.
The individual Odwalla Bars are $1.29 each at the Bookstore.
“ It’s like a granola bar. People who like that kind of stuff say that they [Odwalla] are better,” Tarflinger said.
A healthy snack that can be taken to class, Odwalla Bars contain several healthful elements such as vitamin B6, iron, folate [folic acid] and protein.
Helping to maintain energy levels, protein allows for the brain to receive and send massages, which might come in handy during a lecture class.
Iron, folate and vitamin B6 help build healthy immune and nervous systems.
Iron carries oxygen through the blood systems and is essential to the immune system; folate is needed for healthy blood cells.
The Odwalla bars come in a variety of flavors such as Cranberry C Monster, Berries Go Mega, Super Protein, Carrot and Choco-Walla.
“ They’re delicious; plus, you feel like you’ve actually eaten something,” Jane Savoy, a NE Bookstore employee, said.
For more information about products, visit the company’s Web site at Odwalla.com.